POI Murder She Wrote crossover stories
by whomii2
Summary: series of one shot crossovers of POI and Murder She Wrote
1. Chapter 1 New Number

At first glance, their latest number seemed rather benign. Someone unlikely to be either a victim or a perpetrator. Still, experience had shown that appearances were deceiving, as people were rarely what they seemed. This belief was supported when Finch's background check on the number displayed a rather disturbing pattern. If the trend held true, then sometime during her visit to New York someone close to her was going to die violently. This number was apt to prove particularly challenging, and Reese mentally psyched himself to anticipate the unexpected as he prepared to get cozy with Jessica Fletcher...


	2. Chapter 2 Book Signing

Reese had just arrived at the library with drinks for the both of them, but was nonplussed to find that Finch was not there. Granted, they had no current number, but Finch would often spend considerable parts of their downtime upgrading their system and organizing things in the library. Reese set Harold's tea on the desk, and was sipping his coffee trying to decide on his next move when he heard sounds indicating his wayward partner had arrived.

Finch entered the computer room with a smile on his face and a bounce in his step in as much as that was still possible. He released Bear from his leash so that the dog could go and relax on his bed now that he was "off duty." Harold made his way to the desk, putting down a book and picking up the tea with a murmured "Thank you" to Reese and humming to himself as he began waking up his computers.

"What has you in such a good mood this morning Harold?"

"I have learned that one of my favorite authors will be stopping in the area for a book signing. I am hoping to have a chance to meet her and get her to autograph a copy of her latest novel."  
John picked up the novel in question and flipped it over to view the picture on the back cover. An older woman who had probably been quit beautiful in her youth. She seemed like a nice lady, and he could picture her and Finch chatting away over tea while discussing literary works. The front cover showed a rather picturesque view of a beach house and shoreline under the lurid title THE CORPSE SWAM BY MOONLIGHT.

"Doesn't seem the kind of place for that sort of thing."

"Small town America might surprise you, Mr. Reese. Cabot Cove, where Mrs. Fletcher resides, despite its bucolic nature is something of a hotbed of crime. Last year alone saw 5 murders, which for a town with a population of 3560 puts it on a rate similar to a city 20 times its size. One of the things that I admire most about Mrs. Fletcher is not only her intelligent plots and evocative prose, but the fact that she has quite often been instrumental in solving a number of real-life cases." Harold brought up several displays on J.B. Fletcher, including a listing of her best selling novels and an alarming number of murder investigations, both in Cabot Cove and other locations, in which Mrs. Fletcher had been involved. "Her own nephew, Grady, has been accused on multiple occasions although Jessica was always able to reveal the true culprit so that he could be exonerated. In addition to the Cabot Cove sheriff she has worked with and received accolades from a number of other law enforcement officers, including on one occasion Scotland Yard."

John eyed the lengthy list of cases with trepidation. Harold's admiration had apparently blinded him in this instance to a rather alarming trend that John could see clearly even without the aid of a super computer. Reese wasn't sure how he would manage it, but whatever it took Harold was not going to attend that book signing.

There was no way Reese was letting his friend anywhere near that murder magnet!


	3. Chapter 3 New York

New York had become one of Jessica's favorite places to visit. Over the past several years she had noticed nearly all of her vacations/visits with family/holidays with friends had been marred by the occurrence of a violent crime. But on her past few visits to New York no such incident had occurred, even the time she had met up with her nephew Grady who was something of a trouble magnet. She found herself looking forward to her visits to the city without the usual dread of anticipating a horrible tragedy.

Another reason she so liked visiting New York was her recent acquaintance with Harold Wren. He had introduced himself at one of her book signings and then had invited her to drinks later to discuss literature and several of the first editions he was fortunate enough to own. She found him polite, well-read, and a witty conversationalist with a dry sense of humor. When she had reminisced about her time as a teacher he had shared that he had spent a short time as a substitute. He lamented on the attitude of today's youth, and even some teachers. They failed to appreciate the elegant simplicity of mathematics and its ability to illuminate the world. Hearing him discourse on pi Jessica thought privately that he was rather wasted in insurance.

Since that first meeting Harold would make an appearance each time she visited New York, whether on professional or personal business. Although Jessica found this slightly stalker-ish behavior odd she thought she was a good judge of people and didn't see Harold as a violent person. Although she did find him intriguing, suspecting that there was more to the man than the seemingly boring insurance agent he presented to the world.

His associate, Mr John Rooney, was often with him when they had a rendez vous. The younger man was always polite but barely spoke past the opening greetings. He was also an interesting character, and not someone Jessica would have thought would be content with a desk job. His past military experience was obvious and still lingered, as he spent most of the time when he was in their company silently observing the surroundings for possible threats. And although his suits were well tailored, she still thought she could at times detect the presence of a gun on his person.

Jessica had eventually decided that John served as discrete personal security for Harold. Although why John seemed to feel Harold might be threatened by her presence she couldn't fathom. Her suspicions seemed to be confirmed the time John showed up late to one of their get togethers, showing evidence of a physical altercation. Harold shot him a mildly disapproving look, but John sported the first real smile Jessica had seen on his face.


End file.
